Different types of investments that are most favored by Investors

In investing or investment a person allocates his or her resources, usually in the form of money to start a business, expecting to generate an income or profit. In the case of assets, such as purchasing real estate; the investor hopes of reselling it at a higher price in the future.

There are different types of investments and they intimidate a lot of people. There are a lot of options, and they make it hard to figure out which investments are right for you.

Sharing you some of the most common types of investment. If you’re serious about investing, you may want to check them out for guidance and to gain more knowledge on investments.

Stocks
Based on polls conducted by Gallup in 2020, 55% of Americans own stock and this is identical to the average 55% recorded in 2019.

Stocks may be simple yet most popular type of investment. Investing in a stock means you’re buying an ownership share in a publicly-traded company. Many of the biggest companies in the world are publicly traded, and you can buy stock in them.

In stocks investment, you’re hoping that the price will go up so you can then sell it for a profit. The risk is that the price of the stock could go down and you could lose the money you invested.

Bonds
In a recent study conducted by the St. Louis Federal Reserve - one of 12 regional Reserve Banks that make up the United States' central banks - direct household participation in the bond market has fallen to 1.3% in 2016.

Bond investment means lending money to an entity. Companies issue corporate bonds, local governments issue municipal bonds and the U.S. Treasury issues treasury bonds. 

The bond matures once it was held for a predetermined amount of time. That’s when you can earn back the principal you spent on the bond, plus a determined rate of interest.
Typically, the rate of return for bonds is much lower compared to stocks, but the risk is also lower.

Mutual Funds
In mid-2017, an estimated 56.2 million households in America, or 44.5 percent of all US households, owned mutual funds. Currently, there are around 100 million individual investors owning mutual funds in the US. 

In a mutual fund, there is a pool of many investors’ money that is invested broadly in a number of companies. Mutual funds are either actively managed or passively managed. When a fund is actively managed, there is a manager who picks companies and other instruments in which to put investors’ money. Meanwhile in a passively managed fund, the major stock market index is simply being tracked.

Investing in mutual funds has also risks like stocks and bonds, but the risk is lesser because the investments are inherently diversified.

Real Estate
According to a new data from 2019 and 2020, real estate remains the most favored investments in the US. The latest Bankrate survey also revealed that 31% of Americans think real estate is the best way to invest money that they won’t be able to touch for a decade.

In real estate investing, the person involved purchase, own, manage, rent and/or sell real estate for profit. When a real estate property is improved as part of the investment strategy, it is called real estate development.

Buying and owning real estate is both satisfying and lucrative. It attracts investors from all walks of life because it is a highly customizable investment.

A lot of people may still find investing difficult because almost everything in life is static such as the spending, personal health and well-being, tolerance for risk, and income - they change over time. So to make investing a bit stress-free and hassle-free, you might need an investment calculator, that you can bring anytime and anywhere. 

Investors can use this calculator to determine the average annual rate of return on their investments even if those investments have irregular investments or withdrawals. This free online tool is also helpful to those who are not yet ready to engage in a financial advisor or join financial talks, lessons or coaching that might cost them some amount of money; but are still eager to start investing.